During the first half of the current financial year, JS Investments Limited earned a net profit after tax of Rs112.985 million, with earning per share of Rs1.13 per share) which is 44.8 percent higher than the corresponding period of last year. JS Investments continues to maintain its industry leadership position as Assets Under Management (AUM) posted record growth of 21 percent during this period, closing at Rs35.5 billion on December 31, 2007. In comparison to this, total AUMs of mutual fund industry grew by about 17 percent during this time.
The Board of Directors of JS Investments Limited (formerly JS ABAMCO Limited) in its meeting held on February 11, 2008 approved the half yearly financial statements for the Management Company and the Funds under management of JS Investments Limited.
The Board also announced the following cash dividends for Closed End Funds under management:
JS Value Fund Limited (formerly BSJS Balanced Fund Limited) - Rs3.00 (30 %) per share of the face value of Rs10/- each.
UTP-Large Cap. Fund - Rs1.00 (10 %) per certificate of the face value of Rs10/- each.
The above translates into a year to date cash payout of Rs685.28 million.
In addition to the above the Board took great pleasure in announcing its first cash payout of Rs1.50 (15 %) per share of face value of Rs10/- each to the shareholders of JS Investments Limited. Despite the uncertain and volatile political and economic environment, closed end funds under management of JS Investments have shown remarkable performance.
For the period under review, JS Value Fund was the best performing mutual fund of the industry recording a 26 % increase in its Net Asset Value (NAV). The NAV of UTP-Large Cap Fund increased by 4.86 % while that of JS Growth Fund decreased by 1.24 % against a decline of 1.63 % in benchmark KSE 30 Index during this period.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Najam Ali (CEO) commented: “As competition for raising new assets becomes increasingly intense, we have focused our efforts towards bringing differentiated products in the market thereby catering to the diverse need of our customers. We already offer the most diverse product suite in the market and will continue to maintain our leadership position by focusing on further building our brand, continuous improvement in our organizational and technological infrastructure, attracting and retaining the best talent in the market and above all providing world class products and service to our customers.”
